PETALUMA (KPIX 5) — Federal officials have dealt a financial blow to some of the Bay Area’s top grass-fed beef ranchers caught up in massive recall involving a Petaluma slaughterhouse, ordering a complete ban on the sale of their meat.

The word came down from federal officials in Washington, DC late Wednesday afternoon.

Rancher Bill Niman received a letter Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has been ordered not to sell at least $300,000 worth of high end, grass-fed beef.

That meat has been on hold for months, since the Rancho Feeding Corporation shut down its Petaluma processing plant. The plant is now under criminal investigation because of charges it processed diseased animals.

Niman and a number of other organic beef ranchers processed their meat at the same slaughterhouse. He said he has the paperwork to prove his meat is safe.